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This fall, Agnes Scott reported a record number of first-year students. So, too, did Augusta’s Paine College, the University of North Georgia and Georgia State University, which has more students — about 53,000 — than any school statewide. The University System of Georgia, home to the state’s largest public colleges, earlier this month reported record enrollment this fall for the fourth consecutive year with nearly 330,000 students. The enrollment increases in Georgia in recent years contrast with federal government data that show the number of students in the nation’s colleges has declined for six consecutive years, a 6 percent decline of more than 1 million students. So why is it increasing in Georgia? There are more young people in the Peach State, and a higher percentage of them are graduating from high school. The percentage of Georgians under 18 has increased steadily, to 24 percent of the state’s population, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. Georgia’s public high school graduation rate this year was nearly 82 percent, the highest since Georgia began using a federal measure to calculate rates in 2012. The University System has also increased options in recent years to draw in more students. Out-of-state tuition waivers to attract top students from border states have nearly tripled since 2015. International student enrollment is up about 30 percent over the past five years. Some schools, such as Georgia Tech, are creating more online classes. Its enrollment increased 11 percent from last year. Other colleges, such as Agnes Scott, are creating more programs to help first-year students determine their potential career paths once they arrive on campus and are offering tantalizing classes, like a first-year course that includes a trip to a city or country in line with their studies. The University System announced earlier this month an effort to expand its study-abroad program. State leaders have talked constantly in recent years about boosting college enrollment and the importance of graduates being career-ready to compete in high-paying industries to improve the economy. In response, the state Board of Regents approved a plan in March 2015 to allow more high-caliber students from neighboring states to study in Georgia without paying higher out-of-state tuition. Higher education leaders have also focused more on keeping students in college. The University System has a Complete College Georgia program that offers remedial help to new students. Private colleges such as Clark Atlanta University are encouraging students to take more credit hours as a retention strategy and a way for students to graduate with less student debt. Gordon State College has adopted a similar approach, and officials there said the percentage of first-year students taking 15 or more credit hours per semester has doubled from recent years. “It’s really been a bigger shift toward not only recruiting students, but retaining them and that’s possibly helping the overall numbers (in Georgia),” said Susan Campbell Lounsbury, director of education data services for the Southern Regional Education Board, an Atlanta-based nonprofit. Despite the higher enrollment numbers, some say Georgia is missing opportunities to do even better. Thirty-one percent of Georgians between ages 18 and 24 are in college, one of the lowest rates in the nation, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania’s Institute for Research on Higher Education said in a report last month. Many Georgians from low-income families are having trouble enrolling and staying in college, the report found. Georgia and New Hampshire alone among the 50 states do not offer comprehensive state aid programs weighted according to financial need, says the Education Commission of the States. New Hampshire has also showed some increases in enrollments, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. Will college enrollment continue to rise in Georgia? It remains to be seen, University System officials told Regents during a presentation on the numbers. The key, one said, is how well colleges tailor coursework to the needs of students and trends in the workforce. “I think that book is unwritten and we have a lot of work to do,” said Angela Bell, the system’s vice chancellor for research and policy analysis. High school graduation rates are expected to plateau in five years and then decline, which may hurt college enrollment. Georgia has some advantages, though, the SREB’s Campbell Lounsbury said. The state’s Asian and Hispanic population is rising, and projections are it will continue to do so. Here’s the breakdown of University System of Georgia enrollment over the last five years: Academic year enrollment 2018-19 328,712 2017-18 325,203 2016-17 321,549 2015-16 318,164 2014-15 312,936 Source: University System of Georgia

A Forsyth County man was killed in a weekend plane crash in Hall County: 69 year-old Roger Alberhasky was from Cumming. Gainesville Police say the plane hit some tree tops and slammed into an embankment while trying to land at Lee Gilmer Airport. A passenger in the plane was injured and taken to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville where he was, at last report, listed in stable condition. The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.

The Athens-Clarke County government will pay $3 million to bring an end to a federal class action lawsuit, one that alleged that City Hall reneged on assurances to Athens-Clarke County government retirees who say they were promised no cost health insurance benefits as part of their compensation packages. The Athens-Clarke County Historic Preservation Commission meets this afternoon: it’s a 5:30 session at the Government Building on Dougherty Street. The Madison County School Board is reporting an increase in sales tax revenues: the Board, meeting in Danielsville, hears a report that Madison County’s Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax is on pace to collect up to $2.4 million for the year, which would be the most Madison County SPLOST dollars since 2013. Madison County’s Industrial Development meets this evening at the historic courthouse in Danielsville: the Board session is set to start at 6 o’clock. The Oglethorpe County Zoning Board meets tonight, 6 o’clock at the courthouse in Lexington. Tonight’s meeting of the Jackson County Commission is set to start at 6 o’clock at the courthouse in Jefferson.

Athens Republican Brian Kemp will name the members of his transition team today. The Governor-elect saw the results of the November 6 elections certified over the weekend. Atlanta Democrat Stacey Abrams ended her campaign Friday, not conceding to Kemp but acknowledging she did not have the votes to force a December 4 runoff. There will be two runoffs in two weeks: former Athens-Clarke County Commissioner John Barrow is running as a Democrat for the Secretary of State’s office; he’ll face Republican Brad Raffensperger. Republican Public Service Commissioner Chuck Eaton will square off against Democratic challenger Lindy Miller. Early voting for the runoff starts one week from today, in Athens at the Elections Office on Washington Street and in Oconee County at elections headquarters on Court Street in Watkinsville.

The University of Georgia hosted a ceremony on Nov. 16 to dedicate a new memorial at Baldwin Hall in tribute to those who were buried there. “We are drawn here today by a deep sense of respect for these individuals and by a strong sense of duty to commemorate the lives they lived,” said UGA President Jere W. Morehead. “The memorial we are dedicating this morning will provide for an enduring tribute as well as a physical space for meaningful reflection in the future.” Morehead was one of three individuals who spoke at the ceremony. The Honorable Steve Jones, U.S. District Court Judge for the Northern District of Georgia, and Michelle Cook, UGA’s Vice Provost for Diversity and Inclusion and Strategic University Initiatives, also shared their own reflections. “As a member of the Baldwin Hall Memorial Advisory Task Force, my fellow members and I spent a great deal of time thinking deeply about this monument,” Jones said. “We recognized the significance of this great project. We took pride in knowing that we had been called upon for this special occasion and this special task. It mattered to us. We wanted to get it right, and I think we did.” The memorial, located on the south end of the front lawn of Baldwin Hall, near Old Athens Cemetery, will serve as a place of remembrance for the individuals who were originally buried on this site in the 1800s, most of whom likely were slaves or former slaves. The memorial, which complements the aesthetic of the university grounds, includes: a circular form for the memorial plaza, creating a focal point that will serve as a place of contemplation to honor and respect these individuals; an elevated fountain in the center of the memorial plaza; a granite marker, purposefully designed with elements similar to a marker at Oconee Hill Cemetery, which will include text about the memorial; two granite benches facing the granite marker; and vertical elements that will create a sense of ascension and will provide visibility from the street. The design was recommended by members of the Baldwin Hall Memorial Advisory Task Force, a group of 18 representatives from the university and the local community appointed by Morehead and chaired by Cook. “Our goal was to honor, with dignity and respect, the men, women and children who were once buried here,” Cook said. “This memorial is a place of remembrance and reflection. Each element was chosen to evoke a sense of place and permanence. It will be here for generations to come.” The memorial includes more than 35,000 pounds of granite donated by an Oglethorpe County quarry on land that has been owned by a Georgia African American family for more than a century. Cook is a member of the family that owns the property. The remains of the individuals were first discovered during construction of an addition to Baldwin Hall in November 2015. They were reinterred at Oconee Hill Cemetery in March 2017, in accordance with guidance from the State Archaeologist’s Office. The university also held a memorial service at Oconee Hill Cemetery to commemorate their lives, and a granite marker was placed at the gravesite. Acknowledgment in the form of a plaque also was placed inside the new entrance of the Baldwin Hall addition.

Bulldog News

ATHENS — If it’s up to the respective schools, there won’t be any hedges harmed this year even if Georgia Tech pulls off another upset of Georgia in this year’s renewal of the rivalry at Sanford Stadium. Georgia Athletic Director Greg McGarity said Monday he has had conversations with Todd Stansbury, the Yellow Jackets’ athletic director, and they’ve agreed that no more property will be destroyed on either team’s field in the event that the visiting wins. “That tradition will cease,” McGarity said on Monday. It has long been a Tech tradition for its players to rip of pieces of Georgia’s hallowed hedge and parade around with twigs clenched in their when it wins at Sanford Stadium. The Yellow Jackets have had occasion to do that on their last two trips to Athens in 2014 and ’61. The No. 5 Bulldogs (10-1) will play host to Tech (7-4) again this Saturday. Conversely, Georgia players have been known to rip up sections of turf on Grant Field at Tech’s Bobby Dodd Stadium in retaliation. However, that didn’t happened last year when the Bulldogs won 38-7. McGarity had discussed the situation with Kirby Smart beforehand and the Georgia coach assured his AD that his players would not destroy anything if they won. “And they didn’t,” McGarity said. “We took the high road. Our players celebrated with our fans in the stands, then ran to our locker room to celebrate as a team.” This news might come as a disappointment to Tech’s Brad Stewart. The senior wide receiver just this week, “It was a good feeling tearing those hedges at the end, so I want to do that again.” Georgia players heard that proclamation loud and clear, and they were already bowed up about defending their hallowed hedges. But the plan is to do that by winning the game. “I’m excited to win this one and make sure those hedges don’t get touched,” junior tight end Isaac Nauta said. “It’s been the history of (the rivalry), but we’re going to make sure it doesn’t happen this year by handling business when they’re on the field.” That’s not to say that Smart and the Bulldogs won’t use the past destruction of the hedges as motivation. Strength and conditioning coach Scott Sinclair has video footage of the Jackets ripping up the hallowed hedges playing on a loop on television screens in the Bulldogs’ weight room. “There’s pictures all around the facility, there’s videos going around,” Georgia senior defensive end Jonathan Ledbetter said. “We work out, we’re squatting, and when you’re doing a squat you got something right in front of you. It’s stuff like that that gets you fired up and ready to play.” Said senior wideout Terry Godwin: “Me, personally, I don’t need to be reminded. It’s stuck there in my mind vividly, like it was just yesterday, seeing them guys do that. That’s something you don’t want on your own field, so we’re going to try to take care of business.” The Chinese privet hedges that surround the field at Sanford Stadium and have given birth to the concept of “playing between the hedges” were there when the stadium was dedicated in 1929. They were only a foot high then and planted inside a wooden fence. Ninety years later, the same hedges are still there. Of course, they’re not the exact same hedges. But they are, quite literally, related. As legendary Georgia coach and Athletic Director Vince Dooley once said, the current hedges are “the children, grandchildren and great grandchildren” of the original hedges. UGA has gone to great lengths to see that they were. Each time the hedges have had to be removed or replaced — such as for the 1996 Summer Olympic Games or West End construction last year — the school sends the uprooted hedges to two or three different nurseries (for security and assurances sake) and has them propagated into new hedges. Georgia’s hedges had to be replaced or repaired the last two times the Yellow Jackets visited. Huge sections were ripped out after Tech’s 30-24 overtime win in 2014 and its 28-27 victory in 2016, Smart’s first season. It’s a Tech tradition that goes back to 1984. That’s when quarterback John Dewberry — who transferred to Tech from Georgia — first broke off a limb and posed with it clenched in his teeth for television and still cameras. The Yellow Jackets have had six other occasions to do that in the 34 years since. As part of its postgame routine deploys dozens of security officers behind the hedges around the field with a strong concentration behind the visitor’s bench. However, they’re instructed to not engage opposing players or coaches physically. Their marching orders are only to detain fans trying to come over the hedges to enter the field of play. McGarity said UGA simply views the situation as a matter of good sportsmanship. “Georgia was just as guilty as Tech was when our guys are down there ripping up turf,” McGarity said. “That’s not what we’re about, and that’s not what Tech is about. So that should no longer exist in this rivalry. There’s enough passion and juices flowing that we don’t need to throw gas on the fire. “I respect Todd and I consider the matter closed.” The post Tech, Georgia agree that hedges or other ‘property destruction’ will no longer be part of rivalry appeared first on DawgNation.

ATHENS — Georgia football coach Kirby Smart knows the importance of grabbing an early lead against Georgia Tech’s triple-option ball control offense, but he’s not looking to put any added pressure on his offense. “ I always want to put people down by multiple scores, don’t you? I don’t know a game you go say, well, let’s keep this one tight for a while,” Smart said. “I would love to get a lead ….but that doesn’t put any more pressure to say that we have to have it. “You’ve got to play the game you’ve got and you’ve got to do a good job managing whatever it is, whether you’re behind, ahead, doesn’t matter.” The No. 5-ranked Bulldogs (10-1) play host to the Yellow Jackets (7-4) at noon on Saturday at Sanford Stadium (TV: SEC Network; Radio: WSB 750 AM, 95.5 FM). RELATED: Georgia football injury report, linebacker “probably” out this week Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm understands the sense of urgency the offense needs, as far as making the most out of what figures to be a limited amount of possessions. The Bulldogs had seven first-half possessions against UMass in a 66-27 win last Saturday, while Alabama had just four in battling an option-oriented team in The Citadel to a 10-10 halftime tie. Indeed, in addition to leading the nation in rushing (353.7 yards per game), Georgia Tech ranks fifth in time of possession (34:12). “It’s different, the amount of possessions we had tonight it gets cut down almost in half,” Fromm said. “For an opposing offense it’s not the funnest to play because you just don’t have that many opportunities to score, so you have to be extremely efficient playing teams like this.” Smart just wants to make sure his players stay relaxed and not psych themselves out too much. “ I don’t think you ever panic, I think you take advantage of your opportunities, you just may have less opportunities,” Smart said. “I think panic comes from within. It comes from pressing, trying to do things you don’t do, normally. “I think the number of opportunities or series or drives you may have may be less. Realistically it may be less, we may have less than most people because we have been a ball controlled time possession offense. Maybe not to the extent Tech is, but we understand those games. And every offensive possession is critical, but when is it not? It’s always that way.” Georgia football coach Kirby Smart DawgNation Georgia football stories Nick Chubb and Sony Michel predict Georgia will beat Alabama Georgia opens up as surprisingly big favorite over Georgia Tech Tyler Simmons latest UGA receiver to emerge from deep room Georgia football players react to Justin Fields breakout performance Bulldogs bring No. 5 AP ranking into rivalry game with Georgia Tech Former SEC national title coach explains why option so devastating The post WATCH: Georgia football coach Kirby Smart downplays added pressure on offensive efficiency appeared first on DawgNation.

ATHENS — Georgia football coach Kirby Smart said inside linebacker Monty Rice “is probably not going to be available this week, he’s doubtful.” Freshman offensive guard Cade Mays is questionable, senior guard Kendall Baker (knee) is “very doubtful,” leaving the Bulldogs’ offensive line thin entering practice this week. Georgia (10-1) plays host to Georgia Tech (7-4) at noon on Saturday at Sanford Stadium (TV: SEC Network; Radio: WSB 750 AM, 95.5 FM). RELATED: Jake Fromm says UGA has chip on its shoulder Rice, who has led the team in tackles this season, didn’t play in the Bulldogs’ 66-27 win over UMass on Saturday after injuring himself during pregame warmups. Mays (shoulder) and Baker did not dress out for the game. RELATED: Freak injury sidelines Monty Rice for Minutemen game Smart said Rice was injured while “ planting and driving” in the warmups and X-Rays were taken. The Georgia front seven has had its share of struggles this season, already missing run-stopping defensive end David Marshall indefinitely because of a foot injury. RELATED: Georgia football run defense pales compared to Alabama Smart said the inside linebacker positions are very important against an option team like Georgia Tech. “The middle linebacker is critical against Tech’s offense, but really both linebackers,” Smart said. “Both have to be tremendous keys, and be able to read and react, they have to be good tacklers.” Redshirt sophomore guard Ben Cleveland didn’t see action against UMass on the punt team because the No. 5-ranked Bulldogs (10-1) didn’t punt. Smart said Cleveland suffered a sprained ankle at the end of the Auburn game, though he did practice in the days leading up to the UMass game. “It’s tough when you’ve got an ankle and you’re coming off that (broken fibula) injury,” Smart said. “It’s not something you just wake up from. Ben is cleared. but Ben is not his normal self. If he didn’t have the ankle, it would be easier on him.” Outside linebacker Walter Grant limped off the field against UMass, but Smart said he has been dealing with an ankle all season and indicated he will continue to play. Smart made it clear he’s hoping all of his players can be ready for the Yellow Jackets, winners of four straight. “We need everybody, all the time,” Smart said. “I don’t want anybody to be hurt. We want to stay as healthy as we can, but teams across the country are beat up. It’s why you have 85 scholarships. “You’ve got to prepare guys and get guys ready to play. I think that we’re not as healthy as we have been in the past but things could be worse.” Georgia football injury report OLB Walter Grant (ankle) probable OG Ben Cleveland (left fibula) probable DL Tyler Clark (finger) probable DB Divaad Wilson (knee) questionable LB Monty Rice (lower left leg) doubtful OL Cade Mays (shoulder) questionable OL Kendall Baker (knee) doubtful DE David Marshall (foot) out DT DaQuan Hawkins-Muckle (unknown) out DB Ameer Speed (unknown) out DE Justin Young (unknown) out SS Jarvis Wilson (unknown) out DB Tray Bishop (internal team issue), out RB Zamir White (knee), out for season DawgNation Georgia football stories Nick Chubb and Sony Michel predict Georgia will beat Alabama Georgia opens up as surprisingly big favorite over Georgia Tech Tyler Simmons latest UGA receiver to emerge from deep room Georgia football players react to Justin Fields breakout performance Bulldogs bring No. 5 AP ranking into rivalry game with Georgia Tech Former SEC national title coach explains why option so devastating The post Georgia coach Kirby Smart: LB Monty Rice doubtful, OL Cade Mays questionable appeared first on DawgNation.

ATHENS — Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm knows better than anyone the challenge the Bulldogs have ahead, and just how little margin for error a game like Georgia Tech affords a quarterback. But Fromm, now 22-3 as a starter with his limited but flawless 5-of-5 passing performance against UMass, made it clear the No. 5-ranked Bulldogs (10-1) won’t be sitting around waiting to get upset by the Yellow Jackets (7-4) at noon Saturday. RELATED: Why Georgia should be upset Michigan is ranked ahead “I think we have a chip on our shoulder now, we’re coming out and guys are molding together now, guys are understanding everyone’s roles now and things are clicking, and I hope they continue to click,” Fromm said, “because right now, we’re getting starting to get kind of dangerous.” Fromm in control Fromm has everything to do with it, taking command of the offense during the bye week. The sophomore from Warner Robins was 3-of-20 converting on third-and-9 or longer through the first seven games of the season, completing 5-of-15 passes for 63 yards with 4 sacks and 3 interceptions. But in the next three games against Florida, Kentucky and Auburn, Fromm as 4-of-6 converting on third-and-9 or longer and is 5-of-6 passing for 63 yards. Fromm was so sharp against UMass, he didn’t face any third downs on his four series, all of which resulted in touchdowns. “The bye week was good for us, (and) we got back to the basics and said, ‘this is who we’re going to be, and how we’re going to do it,’ “ Fromm said during an SEC Network interview with SEC legend and college football analyst Tim Tebow last week. “Third down was kind of a big issue for us, (so) during the bye week we said, ‘we’re gong to get better on third down,’ and we just kind of grinded on that.” RELATED: Jake Fromm embracing challenges, silencing critics Tebow’s words Tebow, who predicated Fromm would bounce back the day before Georgia beat Florida 36-17 in Jacksonville, said there’s no quarterback debate in Athens. “Jake Fromm is your quarterback, there’s no arguments anymore, I don’t want to hear anything else,” Tebow said. “But how can Justin Fields help the team? Not in going in and being a quarterback for a series — but in special situations. Third-and-short, red zone and goal line, that’s where Justin Fields can help this team.” Fields showed off his running skills in the 66-27 win over UMass, converting on a third-and-1 run and breaking off runs of 47 and 30 yards. NFL running back and former Georgia star Sony Michel says he sees the team gelling. That’s why Michel and Nick Chubb predicted the Bulldogs would win the SEC title on national television Saturday. “I see a group of young guys playing with each other,” Michel said, “trusting the process and trusting what Coach is telling them.” UGA has had a successful season in most every respect, especially when one considers the Bulldogs didn’t have one player on offense chosen for preseason All-SEC honors. Georgia football QB Jake Fromm DawgNation Georgia football stories Nick Chubb and Sony Michel predict Georgia will beat Alabama Georgia opens up as surprisingly big favorite over Georgia Tech Tyler Simmons latest UGA receiver to emerge from deep room Georgia football players react to Justin Fields breakout performance Bulldogs bring No. 5 AP ranking into rivalry game with Georgia Tech Former SEC national title coach explains why option so devastating The post WATCH Georgia QB Jake Fromm: ‘We have a chip on our shoulder’ appeared first on DawgNation.

ATHENS — Georgia football coach Kirby Smart has brought a championship process to the Bulldogs, but on Saturday night, he admitted he was going to break one of his own rules. “I try to have a 24-hour rule, too, but this one is different because you don’t have enough time to prepare for them,” Smart said, explaining why he would change things up to begin early preparations for rival Georgia Tech. RELATED: Vegas sets curious betting line on UGA-Georgia Tech Smart typically tells his team to enjoy or ponder the Saturday game for 24 hours before moving on to the next opponent, but he revealed he would be breaking his own rule Saturday night. “As soon as I can turn that tape on, I’ll be turning it on, because what they do is so different for us,” Smart said, referring to the powerful Yellow Jackets run attack. “You always feel crammed preparing for this offense because you so rarely see it.” Recent reminder The Citadel reminded everyone of just how effective an option attack can be when it played No. 1-ranked Alabama to a 10-10 tie at halftime last Saturday. RELATED: Georgia can learn lessons from Citadel first half at Alabama The Yellow Jackets are much bigger and more athletic than The Citadel, and they will enter Saturday’s noon game at Sanford Stadium on a four-game win streak and leading the nation in rushing (353.7 yards per game). Georgia Tech has won the past two meetings in Athens over Georgia dating back to 2014, too. The Bulldogs won last season’s game in Atlanta, 38-7, but that was a Yellow Jackets team that had lost three of four games. Smart points out it was a different Georgia front seven, too, and it’s clear he’s concerned. “It will be a challenge for us because we were very fortunate that there were defensive players that played against it when we got here,” said Smart, who’s in his third year as UGA’s head coach. “I think eight or nine guys that played against that offense for three straight years graduated last year.” Defensive challenges Georgia’s defensive front has had its injuries and struggles this season, most recently losing inside linebacker Monty Rice before last Saturday’s game with UMass on account of a fluke injury that occurred during warmups. Smart didn’t say when Rice might return from the injury, but coupled with run-stopping defensive end David Marshall being out on account of a foot injury, it raises concerns. Smart said the Bulldogs have committed some time to preparing for the option at times during the offseason and in season, but not enough to be as efficient defending it as Tech is running it. “If you watch teams play the triple option, it’s extremely different and so extreme that I don’t think you guys can understand, there’s not one call in our defense (that carries over),” Smart said. “The only common theme is you’ve got to tackle the man with the ball. That’s the only common theme. Outside of that, there’s nothing like it. “We try to work on it in the off week, we work on it in the offseason, we work on it during the season on some Mondays when we feel like we’ve got a simpler game plan for whoever we’re playing,” Smart said. “They’re (Georgia Tech) doctorate experts in it and we’re one week a year, so you’ve got to be smart about what you do and you’ve got to sell your team on being able to play the right way against it.” Option guru Yellow Jackets coach Paul Johnson is considered one of the most brilliant minds in college football when it comes to his ability to adjust the option attack on the fly, depending on how defenses choose to defend it. Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi, the architect of some of the best defenses in recent Big Ten history while at Michigan State, explained what makes Georgia Tech’s option so good in a Rivals.com article earlier this season: “Paul Johnson is a genius when it comes to offensive football, he knows that, he knows his scheme so good and he’s the offensive coordinator, okay? It doesn’t say it anywhere that he’s the OC, but he’s the guy making the calls. “Wherever you load your guys up…they put their guys there and they know what they do so they can tell. There’s 11 guys and they strategically from their press box are seeing where our guys and they know where their angles are. That’s the difficult thing, that’s why nobody really stops that, because they kind of go, ‘Oh, you’re doing that today? Okay, we do this.’ They know what their answers are.” Last time in Athens Indeed, Smart knows how it goes better than anyone, having seen a game slip away in 2016. Georgia was up 27-14 midway through the fourth quarter and seemingly in control before Johnson reached into his bag of tricks and dialed up a 94-yard TD drive and ultimately the winning touchdown in the final minute. We as coaches have to do a better job, and that starts with me,” Smart said that day. “I’m the leader of the organization. And I’m the one held responsible for it.” And that’s why Kirby Smart didn’t allow himself 24 hours to enjoy the win over UMass Saturday night, and why he’s probably already seen tape of all of Georgia Tech’s games this season. Georgia football stories Georgia opens up as surprisingly big favorite over Georgia Tech Tyler Simmons latest UGA receiver to emerge from deep room Georgia football players react to Justin Fields breakout performance Bulldogs bring No. 5 AP ranking into rivalry game with Georgia Tech Former SEC national title coach explains why option so devastating The post On the Beat: Why Georgia coach Kirby Smart broke team rule for Georgia Tech appeared first on DawgNation.

Blasting Iran deal, Trump adds even more to a crowded Congressional agenda

Posted: 4:18 pm Friday, October 13th, 2017

By Jamie Dupree

Already asking Congress to approve landmark tax reforms, a controversial package of health care changes, and a series of hot button immigration actions, President Donald Trump on Friday added yet another major item to the Congressional to-do list in 2017, urging lawmakers to pass new legislation in coming weeks adding conditions to the Iran nuclear deal.

“The flaws in the deal also include insufficient enforcement and near total silence on Iran’s missile programs,” the President declared, bluntly warning that if Congress did not act, he might tear up the Iran agreement on his own.

If there was one theme this week across the varied landscape of issues addressed by the White House and Mr. Trump, it was President Trump asking for action now by the House and Senate.

“We’re going to also pressure Congress very strongly to finish the repeal and the replace of Obamacare once and for all,” the President said on Thursday, as he rolled out a new executive order on health insurance changes, and then announced an end to payments to health insurance companies which pay subsidies for some consumers who buy coverage through the Obama health law exchanges.

A pattern: on health care, DACA, JCPOA: Trump admin undermines policy & kicks it to Congress-but does not repeal the policy or replace it

After the Senate failed to approve a health care bill by a September 30 deadline, GOP leaders in the Congress were ready to switch their focus mainly to tax reform.

But the President has had other ideas.

Earlier this week, Mr. Trump rolled out a series of demands for any immigration legislation, tying a series of measures to crack down on illegal immigration to the approval of any plan on immigrant “Dreamers.”

The President has said he wants Congress to act by March on the DACA/Dreamers issue, but Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) suggested Thursday that deadline could slip.

“As President, I took an oath to uphold the Constitution, which makes clear that all legislative powers are vested in the Congress, not the President,” Mr. Trump wrote in a letter, making it clear he wants lawmakers to act on immigration, which is not something that will happen with the snap of someone’s fingers.

In a speech on Wednesday to a group of truckers on tax reform, the President had a clear message for lawmakers in attendance.

“And our great Congressmen, Congresswomen, and all of the people that we’re working with, all I can say is: You better get it passed,” Mr. Trump said.

Ryan claims he will keep House in session over Christmas if necessary to pass tax reform

If tax reform were the only major issue on the docket, that alone would be difficult to complete by the end of the year. In fact, on Thursday, House Speaker Paul Ryan was already threatening to keep lawmakers at work over the holiday break.

“We’re going to keep people here for Christmas if we have to,” the Speaker said.

One other item that must be addressed is the funding bills for Uncle Sam, as a December 8 government shutdown deadline already looms – and without a deal yet on how much money would be spent in 2018, you can’t negotiate that bill.

“If we wait until December 8, it gets pretty hard to get it done,” said Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK), a member of the House Appropriations Committee.